Vacuum Pot Capable of Showing Vacuum Status

The present invention relates to a vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status, especially to a vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status by a pointer to let the user know the vacuum degree exactly. There is no indicating unit protruding from the cover body. Articles can be superposed thereon.

The conventional vacuum pot can be used to store food. Through the pumping out of the air in the vacuum pot, the spoiling of the food can be reduced, and the storage life of the food can be increased. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional vacuum pot comprises a container 10a and a cover body 11a. The cover body 11a covers on the top opening of the container 10a to seal the container 10a. The top of the cover body 11a has an indicating button 12a and an admission button 13a. The sidewall of the cover body has an air-pumping handle 14a. Through the to-and-fro action of the air-pumping handle 14a, an internal piston (not shown in the figure) of the cover body 11a can be controlled to pump out the air in the container 10a. The inside of the container 10a will approach vacuum gradually. The vacuum degree of the container 10a can be judged by the height of the indicating button. When the cover body 11a is to be opened, the admission button 13a is pressed to let the inside of the container 10a be restored to regular pressure, facilitating the opening of the cover body 11a. A time table 15a can be installed on the top of the cover body 11a to show the placement date of the food.

The indicating button 12a of the conventional vacuum pot protrudes from the top of the cover body 11a. Therefore, no articles can be superposed on the cover body 11a. Also, the user must judge the vacuum degree by the height of the indicating button 12a. The error will be large, and the user can not know the vacuum degree of the vacuum pot exactly. Moreover, when the user uses the air-pumping handle 14a to pump out the air in the container 10a, he must use one hand to hold the container 10a or the cover body 11a and the other hand to hold the air-pumping handle 14a to draw to and fro. Single-handed operation is unworkable, resulting in inconvenient usage. Besides, because the time table 15a is situated on the top of the cover body 11a, if the vacuum pot is put at a high place, the time table 15a can not be seen. The user must get the vacuum pot from the high place to see the time table 15a, resulting in further inconvenient usage.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status by a pointer of the indicating unit. The pointer is installed in a groove of the top lid of the cover body and does not protrude from the top lid. Articles can thus be superposed on the cover body. Also, the user can know the vacuum degree from the pointed scale, and eye-measurement of the vacuum degree is not needed. The error is much reduced, and the vacuum degree of the vacuum pot can thus be known exactly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status, which characterizes in that when the air-pumping button of the air-pumping unit is pressed, it is not necessary to hold the container or the cover body. The user can operate it using only one hand, resulting in convenient usage.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status, which characterizes in that the time table is installed on the sidewall of the cover body. Even if the vacuum pot is put at a high place, the time table can also be seen. It is not necessary to get it from the high place, resulting in further convenient usage.

The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the conventional vacuum pot;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective disassembly diagram of the vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view showing the inside of the vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is the cross section view A--A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is the cross section view B--B in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the operation of the air-pumping unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the operation of the indicating unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is another diagram showing the operation of the air-pumping unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the operation of the admission unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is another diagram showing the operation of the admission unit according to the present invention;

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, the present invention provides a vacuum pot capable of showing the vacuum status, which comprises a container 1 and a cover body 2. The present invention focuses on the improvement of the cover body 2.

The cover body 2 comprises a seat 20, a top lid 21, an air-pumping unit 22, an indicating unit 23, an admission unit 24, and a time table 25. The seat is generally of circular shape. An annular locking part 27 is concavely installed on the bottom edge of the seat 20 to lock on the top of the container 1.

The top lid 21 is generally of circular shape. The bottom of the top lid 21 locks on the top of the seat 20. The top lid 21 and the seat 20 can be agglutinated properly to form a hollow shell body. The top lid 21 has a circular hole 28 on the top and a groove 29 on the top edge.

The air-pumping unit 22 is situated between the seat 20 and the top lid 21. The air-pumping unit 22 has an air-pumping button situated in the hole 28 on the top of the top lid 21. The bottom of the air-pumping button joins a plurality of piston bars 31. The bottom of each piston bar has a piston 32. A plurality of corresponding pumps 33 are mounted on the seat 20. The piston 32 is matched to the pump 33 individually. The bottom of the pump 33 has a predetermined number of vents 34. The pump 33 has a unidirectional valve 35 inside to let the air flow only in one direction. A predetermined number of resilient devices 36 are installed between the air-pumping button 30 and the seat 20 to restore the air-pumping button upwards. When the air-pumping button 30 is pressed (as shown in FIG. 8), the piston bars 31 and the pistons 32 are jointly moved downwards. The unidirectional valve 35 closes the vent 34 to let the air in the pump 33 flow out. When the air-pumping button is released, the resilient devices 36 will restore the air-pumping button 30 upwards. The air-pumping button 30 will move the piston bars 31 and pistons 32 upwards. The unidirectional valve 35 opens the vent 34 to let the air in the container be pumped into the pump 33. Through the pressing and releasing of the air-pumping button 30, the air in the container 1 can be drawn out unidirectionally to let the inside of the container approach vacuum.

The indicating unit 23 has a retractable pump 37 (as shown in FIG. 9). One end of the retractable pump 37 connects with the seat 20 through a hole 38 on the seat. The retractable pump 37 can connects with the inside of the container 1 through the hole 38. The other end of the retractable pump 37 connects with a rack 39. The rack 39 is meshed with a gear 40 pivotably installed on the seat 20. The gear 40 fixedly joins a pointer 41 installed in the groove 29 of the top lid 21. A scale 43 is installed on the groove. A transparent lid 42 locks on the groove 29. When the air inside the container 1 is drawn out, a dragging force is generated to let the retractable pump 37 retract (as shown in FIG. 10). The rack 39 is thus jointly moved to turn the gear 40 and the pointer 41 connected with the gear 40. The pointed scale on the scale 43 can indicate the vacuum degree of the inside of the container 1.

The admission unit 24 is installed between the seat 20 and the top lid 21. The admission unit 24 has an admission button 44 and an admission valve 45. The admission button 44 is slidably matched on the sidewall of the top lid 21. The inside of the admission button 44 connects with a jointly-moving device 46. The admission valve 45 is matched in an admission chamber 26 mounted on the seat 20. The admission chamber 26 has an admission hole 47 (as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12) connected with the inside of the container 1. A resilient device 48 is installed between the admission chamber 26 and the jointly-moving device 46. The resilient device 48 can push the admission valve 45 to close the admission hole 47 (as shown in FIG. 11). When the admission button 44 is pressed, the jointly-moving device 46 is moved to push the admission valve 45. The admission valve 45 will then open the admission hole 47 (as shown in FIG. 12), and the inside of the container will be restored to regular pressure.

The time table 25 has the date numbers such as the month 49 and the day 50 installed on the sidewall of the seat 20 and the top lid 21, respectively. Slide grooves 51 and 52 are installed above and below the date numbers 49 and 50. The slide grooves 51 and 52 are slidably matched to two indicators 53 and 54. The two indicators 53 and 54 can slide freely on the slide grooves 51 and 52 to select certain date numbers 49 and 50 for representing the placement date of the food.

The indicating unit 23 uses the pointer 41 to point the scale 43 for indicating the vacuum degree of the inside of the container 1. The pointer 41 is installed in the groove 29 of the top lid 21 and does not protrude from the top lid 21. Articles can thus be superposed on the cover body. Also, the user can know the vacuum degree from the pointed scale 43, and eye-measurement of the vacuum degree is not needed. The error is much reduced, and the vacuum degree of the vacuum pot can thus be known exactly.

When the air-pumping button 30 of the air-pumping unit 22 is pressed to draw out the air inside the container, it is not necessary to hold the container 1 or the cover body 2. The user can operate using only one hand, resulting in convenient usage.

The time table 25 is installed on the sidewall of the cover body 2. Even if the vacuum pot is put at a high place, the time table 25 can also be seen. It is not necessary to get it from the high place, resulting in further convenient usage.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have suggested in the foregoing description, and other will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.